With University of California (UC) applications being due on November 30th, many high school seniors are in the final stretch of finishing up their applications. Application season is one of stress, doubt and high levels of anxiety. The decisions that are being made now could impact the next four years of many students’ lives.
However, so much of the information that students get is from teachers, administrators and counselors. And although these people know a lot of tips and tricks to help out, many of them haven’t been through the actual application process for a few years.
As a freshman at UCLA, it seems like I was submitting my applications yesterday. I got into every UC I applied to, including UCLA and UC Berkeley—the top two public universities in the nation. This is what I did:
DISCLAIMER: This was my personal experience. Doing these things doesn’t guarantee a spot in a university, and not doing them doesn’t mean you won’t get in. This is based on my experience only.
GPA:
Although it’s the last thing we want to hear, GPA is an important part of applications. I had a 4.45 weighted and a 4.0 unweighted GPA when I was applying to colleges. I took a number of AP classes, which helped boost my GPA. Although this gave me a boost, it was not at all the only thing that set me apart.
Extracurriculars:
I did a number of extracurriculars in high school, having a leadership role in all of them. I was my class’s Vice President for all four years of high school. I did mock trial for all four years of high school and was a team captain for the last three years. I also started my own club for creative writing, which aligned with my passions. I wanted my extracurriculars to show that I wanted to start something and contribute to something greater than myself. I didn’t want to just participate in student organizations, I wanted to lead them.
Passion Project:
I put a lot of time into my passion project: a novel which I self-published in August of my senior year. I know that seems like a huge deal, but a passion project doesn’t have to be something big like a novel. I wanted to show that I could invest significant time and effort into my goals. In my case, that was writing. I dedicated a lot of my time over the summer in order to make that dream a reality, and it paid off both in the finished project and college applications.
Personal Insight Questions (PIQs):
This is where UCs really get to know the applicant. I spent a lot of time perfecting my PIQs. I didn’t want to write about something that everyone else would — like how my mom is my hero (even though she is). I wanted the readers to get a sense of who I really was. So, I told stories. Specifically, I told stories about how I overcame various challenges in my life. It didn’t have to be anything huge; any struggle that had a real emotional impact works. But instead of focusing on the struggle, I focused on how it pushed me to achieve — to give voices to people in my community that have been unheard. I wanted to let the readers get to know me as someone who was capable of accomplishing big things.
I’ve been told my whole life that colleges want someone who is “well-rounded”. I was incredibly worried when applying for this reason. My strengths are purely academic—I couldn’t hit a ball to save my life. But, throughout my application process, I found that in my case, the opposite was true. I wrote about the activities that I invested significant time in, and I think that made a difference.
No matter what you’ve done — whether you’ve done every item on this list and more, or none of them — invest time into your applications. My experience could be completely different from yours. But I do know that this process has the chance to completely alter the next four years of your life. So give it your all, and make it count. We’re wishing you luck!